9/13/10

Word Habits





I haven’t been able to sleep lately, so when that happens I jump on my computer and write.  I do not think, I just write…Well, maybe I do think because I could not write if I wasn’t thinking, I suppose.  Hence, last night I started 'thinking' about how people say certain words that aren't part of the English language, over and over again, sometimes for years. For example, I spoke to an old friend the other day, who I haven’t spoken to in years, that used to say the word "majorly" all of the time.


It drove me crazy, but I didn’t want to sound like my mother, and say, “Don’t say that.”  Or “Did you know that majorly is not a word?”  Because, correcting an adult, particularly a friend, would have sounded self-righteous and mean.  Besides, there is nothing wrong with saying a word you like…it is not as if it’s against the law or anything.  Well, I guess you could say it causes mental anguish, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, I was surprised that she still used the same word…and she’s not the only one.  We are all guilty of this malacy…you see, malacy is also not a word, or I do not think it is, well, it may be a synonym for malady, who knows. 

My mother is still constantly correcting my words, but she is just as guilty of improper word usage as I am…although she would never admit it.  I don’t know why she is still correcting my language, but I guess she’s trying to make up for lost time, or she’s afraid I may run into one of her friends, and say, “Hello, it’s so nice to see you after all these years.  It’s been a majorly long time, hasn’t it?  “  


When I was a teenager, my siblings and I had certain after school responsibilities she demanded we complete by the time she came home from work, or shopping, or riding horses, etc…whatever she was doing.  In any event, my after school duty was to keep our kitchen clean, and I thought it was unfair since I had two older brothers who were constantly in the kitchen dirtying dishes.  I mean, come on, what teenage boy doesn’t spend much of his time staring into the refrigerator?


Well, my brothers were typical teenage boys, hence, everyday after school, my brothers had demolished my cleaning job by the time my mother’s 1966 Ford Galaxy zoomed up our driveway-(our driveway was on a hill, well actually, our   house was on a hill.  That is why the driveway was…oh, you know what I mean-).


Anyway, we had better have our chores finished by the time we heard my mother’s white monster car soar up the driveway. (The car’s name was Charger)




I wish I could tell you more about “Charger,” (The Ford Galaxy) the Pear Apple tree, and our house on the hill,  but I’m going to have to write about them in another post…because I’m trying to break the habit of bouncing from one topic to another-





O.K. now, where was I?


Oh yes, back to my unfair chores…According to my sluggish hormonial (not a word) teenage brain, kitchen duty should have landed on my brothers strong shoulders, not mine.  Besides, it was obvious that my mother just wanted to torture me, because she could have had me dust the living room or take the garbage out, but no, she was adamantly against it.




Actually, I could not understand why it was illegal for teenagers to move into their own apartment.




Besides, grown-ups didn’t have a clue what teens were doing anyway.






Every time I asked her for a different chore, she would say; “Ann, that is the 17th time you have asked me the same question!” At which point I would say, well, just give me one good reason why we cannot at least change the chores for once, and I’ll quit asking.”



That is when she would get so mad; it changed the features in her face. My mother would morph into someone else. Have you ever noticed when you’re involved in a confrontation you senses heighten, and you notice details about the person you’re arguing with that you’ve never noticed before?


For instance, when the maintenance man at my apt. complex told me this week that I would have to pay for a new dishwasher, I noticed that his eyes were big, brown and round, they looked like they were too big for his face, like a baby puppies. Moreover, his hair had turned grayer since the last time I saw him, which was the day before.


In any event, the first time my senses heighten with my mother, it scared the daylights out of me, in fact, she still can scare me to death.



Well, after I opened my mouth (for the seventeenth time) about my chore duties, and I smelled the strong scent of  Chanel #5 or Ciarra in the air, I took off for my room, but, as always she caught me; and the lecture was on it’s way.




After telling me why I wasn’t going to talk to her like that, she’d cock her head to the side, and look at me like she didn’t have a clue who I was, after which, she’d straighten her arm out, and point with her index finger like she had her finger on the trigger of a gun, and say; “Ann, go to your room, don’t say a word, just go to your room and do not come out for the next seventeen years!”


7 comments:

Sandee said...

I was majorly in trouble when I was a teenager and my mother grounded me until I was 30. I laughed out loud.

Looks like things were about the same in our houses.

Have a terrific day. Big hug. :)

Anonymous said...

Let's see - about words - using "wicked" instead of "very". I thought it had gone out of style but then last week a newscaster used it on air.

Chores: I did them all despite having 2 brothers - oh well.

Grounded? Never happened. My parents were so unaware of what we did and where we went that even if we were told we had to stay home, we just ignored the order and went along our merry way.

Finding Pam said...

I love this paragraph...

"That is when she would get so mad; it changed the features in her face. My mother would morph into someone else. Have you ever noticed when you’re involved in a confrontation you senses heighten, and you notice details about the person you’re arguing with that you’ve never noticed before?"

I can't stand confrontation.

Just tell me this? Were her nostrills flairing?That is a big sign of anger. She must have been "majorly" mad! I am sorry, but I just could not help myself.


Great and funny stuff you have shared with us. I had an older sister that made me do all of the hard house work.

Goodnight Annie. I hope you sleep well tonight.

aniceplaceinthesun.blogspot.com said...

Sandee, Laughing...30? Oh...yes, it does sound like they were about the same.

I'm just glad my mother never got stuck on the number 30. Laughing...

You know I heard a teenager say "majorly" outside my window not long after I wrote this post.

I'm soo happy I made you laugh, because I owe you a million smiles and laughs.

I'm sorry that I'm behind on my visits, I will catch up I promise. I have to because I'm going to go into Comedy Plus withdrawal soon. :)))

You have a terrific evening, and get some rest...because there's a question on the way...

Big hug, and love,

Annie

aniceplaceinthesun.blogspot.com said...

Grace,

I'm laughing...I know it reminds me of how clothes come back into fashion...

It's funny how you mentioned the newscaster saying "wicked," (that's hilarious) because after I wrote this post, I heard a teenager say "majorly" outside my window.

You would think my forty something (actually, she's leaning more toward fifty) year old friend was outside talking to her...or maybe she read my post? No, not a chance.

Not to change the subject, but it was smart of you to just do all the chores, unless of course you weren't assigned any, in which case you should have charged someone.

I love your last paragraph..."Grounded? Never happened." By the way, I loved the whole paragraph, not just the part I copied. Sometimes, I'm just lazy-

Anyway, we were constantly grounded,(especially me) but my mother and stepfather also lived in Never Never Land, so when they forgot about my incarceration, I was home free-

Well, at least until I did something else, then their memory would return.

Thanks for the "very" funny comment- It sounds like ya'll had a "wicked" good time.

And I know I'm behind on your posts as well, but I'll catch up...

Big hug,

Peace out~

Annie

aniceplaceinthesun.blogspot.com said...

Pam, I love this paragraph,

Just tell me this? Were her nostrills flairing?That is a big sign of anger. She must have been "majorly" mad! I am sorry, but I just could not help myself.

You know, they may have been flaring with smoke bellowing out of them for all I know, I was usually too frightened to hang around too long, before making a run for it.

I'm sorry your older sister made you do all of the hard housework. I always wanted a sister, but I wanted to be the oldest. I guess you did too, huh? (Smile)

Thanks for always cheering me up with your sweet comments~

You get a good nights sleep too~

Goodnight Pam~

Greg said...

Majorly cool post! I hayed doing the dishes and my sisters won my Dad over, he was a sucker for their big brown sad eyes.

I wonder if he had hypersensitivity to their suffering, because I had to do the dishes on rotation, but somehow mowing the lawn evaded them every week that it was their turn.

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